


Trolley Problem

by ChocoSwirlz



Series: Sanders Sides Oneshots [2]
Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Character Death In Dream, Crying, Frog Morality | Patton Sanders, Gen, Moral Dilemmas, Nightmares, Not Canon Compliant, Originally Posted on Tumblr, Post-Episode: Putting Others First - Selfishness v. Selflessness Redux | Sanders Sides, Remus and Thomas are mentioned
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-27
Updated: 2020-10-27
Packaged: 2021-03-09 02:07:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,851
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27206345
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChocoSwirlz/pseuds/ChocoSwirlz
Summary: After the LilyPadton incident in POF, Patton is plagued by a recurring nightmare of the dreaded trolley problem. It ends the same way every time: with him not knowing what the right thing to do is and ultimately taking on his despised alternative form. The other Sides eventually find out about his nightmares and decide to intervene.(Originally posted on my Tumblr, @c-swirlz)
Series: Sanders Sides Oneshots [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1986160
Comments: 2
Kudos: 24





	Trolley Problem

**Author's Note:**

> Minor November 9th 2020 edit: changed Host to Whole.

Patton stood in front of a lever with a set of train tracks on either side of him, connected by a single track a little way ahead of him. He knew what was coming, but that didn’t make the situation any less terrifying. He fiddled with the sleeves of his hoodie, tears welling up in his eyes as he heard the train begin approaching. He looked up and glanced at the two previously empty tracks, which now had people bound by ropes standing on them. To his left was his famILY; Logan, Roman, Virgil and Janus – Remus was absent as Patton was still too unsettled by him to approach him and invite him into their famILY.

However, to his right… was Thomas. Their _Whole_. The person he and the other Sides were sworn to help and protect. The obvious choice was to save him, but Patton loved his famILY too much to just let them die, and somehow, he knew object impermanence wasn’t going to save any of them, not even Logan.

Now that he thought about it, Thomas was part of the famILY too. So, what was the right choice? 

Save the Sides, or save Thomas?

Save his famILY, or save their Whole?

The death of the Whole would be the demise of all the Sides, so the answer was clear, but Patton was panicking too much to recall that particular detail.

_In for four… hold for seven… out for eight…_

As Patton went through the breathing exercise to prevent himself from spiralling into a full-blown panic attack, the train roared closer, showing no signs of slowing down or stopping. If Patton didn’t pull the lever, the train would collide with his famILY, leaving only Thomas alive.

A strange sensation ran through Patton’s body, said sensation feeling oddly tingly. The moral Side glanced down at the hand still clutching his hoodie sleeve, only to flinch and pull it away when it momentarily flickered and glitched out of existence.

**_What’s the right answer?_ **

Tears streamed down Patton’s face as he fell to his knees, his entire body glitching crazily. The sound of the train was getting louder; it was bound to be close by now.

Too close.

**_What’s the right answer?_ **

Patton didn’t know.

“I…” Patton sniffed, a small hiccup escaping him. “I – I don’t know! W-Why can’t I save all of them!? Please – Please, let me save all of them – I-I don’t know what the right thing to do is!”

Patton promptly began sobbing, squeezing his eyes shut as tight as he possibly could and pressing his hands over his ears. _Hard_.

His efforts failed to block out the sound of the train’s whistle, followed by the agonised screams of his famILY as the train screeched down their track, running them down in the process.

Patton’s glitching became uncontrollable, and he quickly found himself transforming into LilyPadton he didn’t want to turn into LilyPadton _help me help me please_ -

Patton lurched upright in his bed, a scream of _no_ echoing throughout his room. He took heaving breaths as he frantically glanced around Nostalgia Nirvana before glancing down at his hands and breathing a small sigh of relief when he saw that they were normal, human hands. There was no scaly, green skin (no offence to Janus), no webbing; no frog-like features.

No LilyPadton.

Patton attempted to guide himself through the four-seven-eight breathing exercise, but it wasn’t doing much to help even out his uneven breaths. He decided to switch tactics, naming five things he could see, four things he could feel, three things he could hear, two things he could smell, and one thing he could taste. Upon finishing that, he took a deep, deliberate breath, said breath hitching as he heard a quiet knock on his door.

“Pat?” a muffled voice called.

_Virgil_.

Patton hadn’t seen Virgil in quite a while, as the anxious Side had locked his room down – meaning none of the Sides could rise up or appear within the threshold – and stopped answering summons after the Remus incident, having only emerged to watch Frozen at movie night before retreating back into his haven. In fact, none of the Sides had seen Virgil since then.

So, if he was so determined to avoid the others, why was he at Patton’s door?

Not having the heart to send Virgil on his way, Patton waved a hand, unlocking the door.

“It’s open!”

Patton cringed as obvious fake cheerfulness oozed from those two words. However, he managed to look somewhat inconspicuous as the door slowly swung open and Virgil crept in, flinching in surprise when Patton turned on the lights with a snap of his fingers, though he made sure to make them dim as opposed to bright as to not alert the others, who were sleeping soundly in their rooms situated at various points down the hall. He also waved his hand again to quietly close the door behind the anxious Side as he pulled his blanket off himself with his free hand.

“You good, Pop Star? I, uh… thought I heard you scream.”

Patton’s heart skipped a beat, though not in the good way as his eyes darted every which way around the room, taking great care not to make contact with Virgil’s. He eventually settled for staring over Virgil’s head as he put on the most genuine smile he could muster, which, admittedly, could easily be identified as fake if you were paying attention.

He spent a moment carefully considering his reply, but upon drawing multiple blanks he just decided to wing it. All he had to do was say everything was fine in the least suspicious way he could.

“Y-Yeah, I’m good! Y-Yep, everything’s great – just peachy, nothing to worry about, Virge!”

Nailed it.

Virgil frowned and raised an eyebrow, clearly disbelieving. Oddly enough, however, he didn’t comment. Instead, he allowed his expression to relax into a lopsided smirk, a quiet, amused huff escaping him.

Just as Patton thought Virgil wasn’t going to say anything, he was proven wrong.

“Yep, sure, whatever you say. Just remember there’s a Side who’s a _literal lie detector_ and keeps track of all lies.”

Patton’s Adam’s apple bobbed as he gulped, but, luckily, Virgil didn’t seem to notice, not that it would matter anyway as he was already suspicious of the paternal Side and wouldn’t require any more confirmation that something was amiss.

There was an awkward silence between the two for a moment, broken by Virgil as he scratched the back of his neck.

“Well, I’ll… leave you to it, I guess. Um… sleep well, or whatever.”

And then he left, sinking down as opposed to going through the door. Patton released a breath he had no idea he’d been holding before settling back under his blanket and falling back into an uneasy slumber.

* * *

Three days after the late-night – or early-morning depending on your perspective – talk with Virgil, Patton found himself back in front of the lever with the tracks on either side of him, his famILY tied up on one and Thomas tied up on the other. He had assumed his nightmares were finally over when he didn’t have any the previous night, but he had clearly been sorely mistaken.

Patton could already feel himself glitching as his figurative moral compass spun wildly, he himself still having no idea what the right thing to do was. As he decided to give in and simply let himself transform so he could wake up, he was stopped by the sound of… ropes snapping?

_Wait_ -

Glancing over at the track his famILY was on, Patton’s eyes became as wide as saucers as Logan, Roman, Virgil and Janus all broke free of their bounds and stumbled off the tracks, quickly approaching the moral Side.

“What-”

Roman placed his hands firmly on Patton’s shoulders, smiling warmly despite the sadness in his eyes. The genuine care in his expression made Patton tear up.

“Everything’s okay, Padre. We’re right by your side; you just need to wake up.”

Patton caught a glimpse of Virgil, who seemed to be purposefully avoiding his eyes. Connecting the dots and realising what Virgil must’ve done, the hoodie-clad Side shot him a grateful smile before willing himself to wake up, long before the train had the chance to be heard approaching.

As Patton’s eyes flew open, he let out a gasp, only to be shushed softly as he was pulled up into a sitting position and into someone’s arms. Patton instinctively returned the gesture, tears building up in his eyes as he buried his face into Janus’ shoulder.

“Virgil informed us of your less than desirable experience with a nightmare three nights prior to tonight, and when we suspected you had been experiencing this for an extended period of time, we hypothesised that the optimal thing to do would be to attempt to intervene,” Logan explained.

“I _totally_ haven’t been aware of your nightmares the entire time because I most certainly _cannot_ sense lies, definitely _not_ including those you told Virgil the other night.”

Patton giggled halfheartedly, fighting back the tears that threatened to spill. Janus’ grip on him tightened and he began gently rubbing his back. 

Virgil stepped forward.

“You know repression’s bad, Pat. It’s okay to cry; we aren’t gonna judge you.”

Yes, he already knew that, but having vocal permission seemed to be what prompted the waterworks to flow. Patton began sobbing, his tears soaking Janus’ nightwear, though the deceitful Side didn’t seem to care as he mumbled soothing words into the father figment’s ear. He glanced behind him at other three Sides and gave them a look. Moments later, Patton found himself within the embrace of the other three members of his famILY in the room. Logan’s hug was quite awkward, as if he didn’t exactly know how to execute it, but Patton appreciated the effort.

“If you have any more nightmares, you can rest assured that I will arrive promptly to slay whatever horrid things spawn within them and save you!” Roman proclaimed loudly as he pulled off his iconic pose with his left arm, earning groans from Virgil and Janus and an exasperated sigh from Logan.

Patton laughed, his mouth curling up into a grin despite the tears still cascading down his cheeks. “I know you will, Roman. Thank you – _all_ of you.”

* * *

The following night, Patton was confronted by the nightmare once again, but Roman kept his promise and was by his side before anyone had even appeared on the tracks. When Patton awoke, he was promptly comforted by Roman. That routine was maintained for the next week or so – with the comforting involving another Side from time to time, but after that, the nightmares finally stopped.

Patton was glad he didn’t have to worry about being confronted by moral dilemmas in his sleep anymore. Sure, there was the possibility of him transforming into LilyPadton again for real, but he pushed that thought aside. All he wanted to think about at that moment was his famILY, how much he loved them, and how grateful he was for their help with the entire ordeal.


End file.
